S-690-119
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Sponsored by Rick Scott (R-FL)
What it does
The Overdose RADAR Act would create or expand several federal programs to address opioid overdoses. It would authorize grants to states and localities to improve overdose data collection and postmortem toxicology testing, fund naloxone (overdose-reversal drug) access in K-12 schools, and launch a 3-year wastewater surveillance pilot program to detect illicit substances like fentanyl in communities. It would also exempt fentanyl test strips from federal drug paraphernalia laws, direct the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) to improve interagency coordination and data standards, and modify how federal agencies handle drug control budget transfers.
Who benefits
K-12 students and school staff who would have access to overdose-reversal drugs on school premises. State and local public health agencies that would receive grant funding for data infrastructure. Municipal wastewater treatment facilities selected for the pilot program. Researchers and policymakers who would gain more accurate and uniform overdose data. People who use drugs and their families, who may benefit from fentanyl test strips being legally accessible. First responders and harm reduction organizations that distribute test strips. Communities with high overdose rates that would benefit from earlier detection through wastewater surveillance.
Who is hurt
States and localities not selected for competitive grants, which would receive no direct benefit. Schools in states where the attorney general does not certify adequate civil liability protections, which would be ineligible for school naloxone grants. Wastewater facilities not selected for the pilot program. Advocates who argue the bill's approach to overdose deaths as potential homicides could deter people from calling for help during overdoses, due to fear of prosecution. Federal agencies whose budget transfer flexibility would be reduced under the amended reprogramming provision.
Supporters argue
Supporters argue that the U.S. recorded over 107,000 drug overdose deaths in 2023, with fentanyl involved in the majority, and that fragmented, inconsistent data across jurisdictions has hampered an effective federal response. They contend that placing naloxone in schools addresses a documented gap — opioid overdoses increasingly affect adolescents — and that legalizing fentanyl test strips removes a barrier to a low-cost, evidence-based harm reduction tool shown to reduce overdose risk. They further argue that wastewater surveillance, already used successfully during COVID-19, provides near-real-time community-level drug trend data that can direct resources before overdose deaths spike.
Opponents argue
Opponents argue that the bill's guidance directing states to classify drug-supplied overdoses as homicides could undermine harm reduction by discouraging bystanders from calling 911 out of fear of criminal liability, potentially increasing overdose deaths rather than reducing them. They contend that the bill's grant programs are discretionary and modestly funded, meaning most communities in need may receive no resources, and that wastewater surveillance raises privacy concerns about community-level health monitoring without clear data use limitations. They also argue that ONDCP coordination mandates without enforcement mechanisms may produce little practical change in interagency duplication.
Constitutional context
Congress would exercise its Taxing and Spending Clause authority (Art. I, §8, cl. 1) to fund grants to states and localities; because participation is voluntary and conditions are attached to optional funding rather than coerced, this structure is consistent with the spending clause limits affirmed in NFIB v. Sebelius (2012). The fentanyl test strip provision amends the Controlled Substances Act under Congress's Commerce Clause authority (Art. I, §8, cl. 3), which is well-established for regulation of drug-related items in interstate commerce.
Checks and balances
The executive branch (HHS, CDC, ONDCP, DOJ) gains new grant-making and coordination authority; Congress retains oversight through the Congressional Review Act provision, which subjects ONDCP-disapproved drug control rules to formal congressional review, and through the amended reprogramming provision that changes budget transfer requests from "deemed approved" to "deemed denied," strengthening congressional control over drug control spending.
Historical precedent
The 21st Century Cures Act (2016) and subsequent State Opioid Response grant programs established the federal framework this bill amends, and wastewater surveillance was deployed nationally during the COVID-19 pandemic through CDC's National Wastewater Surveillance System.